Abstract
Communities of Practice (CoPs) have been identified as successful models of innovation in higher education institutional change efforts, particularly geared toward faculty. Accordingly, this multi-method qualitative study examined how participation in one equity-minded CoP contributed to participants’ understanding and mobilization of equity in their work at a public university in the Northeast United States. Through grounded theory, the authors investigated how participants critiqued current educational inequities, supported one another, shared knowledge and resources, and championed social change, while situated within oppressive academic structures. Although all participants aimed to contribute to equitable practices, findings showcased evidence of accomplice behavior given the nature of academia. However, the CoP provided a unique and supportive space for faculty to critique perceived inequities and systems of power and actively advocate for social justice change in their educational environments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Annala, J., & Mäkinen, M. (2017). Communities of practice in higher education: contradictory narratives of a university-wide curriculum reform. Studies in Higher Education, 42(11), 1941–1957. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1125877
Bali, M., & Caines, A. (2018). A call for promoting ownership, equity, and agency in faculty development via connected learning. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 15, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-018-0128-8
Bensimon, E. M. (2018). Reclaiming racial justice in equity. Change, 50, 95-98 doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2018.1509623
Bensimon, E. M., Dowd, A. C., & Witham, K. (2016). Five principles for enacting equity by design. Diversity & Democracy, 19. https://aacu.org/diversitydemocracy/2016/winter/bensimon
Bowen, G. A. (2006). Grounded theory and sensitizing concepts. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5, 12-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690600500304
Brown, M., & Peck, C. (2018). Expanding the landscape: developing knowledgeability through communities of practice. International Journal for Academic Development, 23, 232–243. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2018.1473252
Buckley, S., & Du Toit, A. (2010). Academics leave your ivory tower: Form communities of practice. Educational Studies, 36, 493–503. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055690903425532
Calderwood, P. E. (2003). Toward a professional community for social justice. Journal of Transformative Education, 1, 301–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344603257280
Castagno, A., (2019). The price of nice: How good intentions maintain educational inequities. University of Minnesota Press.
Charmaz, K. (2003). Grounded theory: Objectivist and constructivist methods. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Strategies for qualitative inquiry (2nd ed., pp. 249-291). Sage.
Costino, K. (2018). Equity-minded faculty development: An intersectional identity-conscious community of practice model for faculty learning. Metropolitan Universities, 29(1). https://doi.org/10.18060/22170
Cox, M. D. (2004). Introduction to faculty learning communities. New Directions in Teaching and Learning, 97, 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.129
Cox M. D., & McDonald, J. (2017). Faculty learning communities and communities of practice: Dreamers, schemers, and seamers. In J. McDonald & A. Cater-Steel (Eds.) Communities of Practice (pp. 47-72). Springer.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods Approach (4th ed.). Sage.
David, L. (2014). Communities of practice (Lave and Wenger). https://www.learning-theories.com/communities-of-practice-lave-and-wenger.html
Dowd, A., & Liera, R. (2018). Sustaining change towards racial equity through cycles of inquiry. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 26. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.26.3274
Esters, L. (2017). Students thrive when institutions commit to equity and excellence. Peer Review, 19(2). https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2017/Spring/Esters
Furco, A., & Moely, B. E. (2012). Using learning communities to build faculty support for pedagogical innovation: A multi-campus study. The Journal of Higher Education, 83(1), 128–153. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2012.0006
hooks, B. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as a practice of freedom. Routledge.
Johnson, J. M., Boss, G., Mwangi, C. G., & Garcia, G. A. (2018). Resisting, rejecting, and redefining normative pathways to the professoriate: Faculty of color in higher education. Urban Review, 50, 630-647. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-018-0459-8
Keels, M., Durkee, M., & Hope, E. (2017). The psychological and academic costs of school-based racial and ethnic microaggressions. American Educational Research Journal, 54, 1316-1344. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831217722120
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.
Liera, R., & Dowd, A. C. (2018). Faculty learning at boundaries to broker racial equity. The Journal of Higher Education, 90(3), 462-485. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2018.1512805
Malcom-Piqueux, L., & Bensimon, E. M. (2017). Taking equity-minded action to close equity gaps. Peer Review, 19(2), 5. https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2017/Spring/Malcom-Piqueux
Maxwell, J. A. (2005). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (2nd ed.). Sage.
McNair, T. B. (2016). The time is now: Committing to equity and inclusive excellence. Diversity and Democracy, 19(1), 4-7. https://www.aacu.org/diversitydemocracy/2016/winter/mcnair
McNair, T. B., & Veras, J. (2017). Committing to equity and inclusive excellence: Intentionality and accountability. Peer Review, 19(2), https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2017/Spring/GuestEditors.
McNair, T. B., Albertine, S., Cooper, M. A., McDonald, N., & Thomas Major Jr. (2016). Becoming a student-ready college: A new culture of leadership for student success. Jossey-Bass.
Nair, A., & Thomas, C. (2018, February 08). A social justice approach to building community in higher education today. https://www.insightintodiversity.com/a-social-justice-approach-to-building-community-in-higher-education-today/
Ness, M. K., George, M., & Hawley Turner, K. H., & Bolgatz, (2010). The growth of higher educators for social justice: Collaborative professional development in higher education. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 5, 88–105. https://doi.org/10.46504/05201007ne
Prochaska, J. O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1982). Transtheoretical therapy: Toward a more integrative model of change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 19(3), 276-288. doi:https://doi.org/10.1037/h0088437
Prystowsky, R. (2018). A systemically collaborative approach to achieving equity in higher education. Metropolitan Universities, 29(1). https://doi.org/10.18060/22176
Prystowsky, R., & Heutsche, A. M. (2017). Facing ourselves, engaging our students: Equity-minded practices at work. Peer Review, 19(2). https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2017/Spring/Prystowsky
Ramaley, J. A. (2014). Educating for a changing world: The importance of an equity mindset. Metropolitan Universities Journal, 25(3), 5-15. http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/16739
Sidman-Taveau, R., & Hoffman, M. (2019). Making change for equity: An inquiry-based professional learning initiative. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 43(2), 122–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2018.1424665
Smit, R. (2012). Towards a clearer understanding of student disadvantage in higher education: problematising deficit thinking. Higher Education Research & Development, 31, 369-380. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2011.634383
Solorzano, D. G., & Delgado Bernal, D. (2001). Examining transformational resistance through a critical race and latcrit theory framework: Chicana and chicano students in an urban context. Urban Education, 36(3), 308-342. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085901363002
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. (2nd ed.). Sage.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (2014). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. (4th ed.). Sage.
Thompson, K. V., Marbach-Ad, G., Egan, L., & Smith, A. C. (2015). Faculty learning communities: A professional development model that fosters individual, departmental and institutional impact. In G. C. Weaver, W. D. Burgess, A. L. Childress, & L. Slakey (Eds.), Transforming institutions: Undergraduate STEM education for the 21st century (pp. 312–324). Purdue University Press.
Trip, T., Jiang, L., Olson, K., & Graso, M. (2018). The fair process effect in the classroom: Reducing the influence of grades on student evaluations of teachers. The Journal of Marketing Education, 41, 173-184. https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475318772618
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development and Office of the Under Secretary, & P. and P. S. S. (2016). Advancing diversity and inclusion in higher education, 1–87. https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/advancing-diversity-inclusion.pdf
Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 80-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.
Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization 7, 225-246. https://doi.org/10.1177/135050840072002
Wenger-Trayner, E., & Wenger-Trayner, B. (2015). Introduction to communities of practice: A brief overview of the concept and its uses. https://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Karen Pelletrau and Dr. Susan Gardner who organized the Teaching with Equity Community of Practice on which this research focused. We would also like to acknowledge their continuous commitment to equity in higher education.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
We have no conflicts of interests to disclose.
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hakkola, L., Ruben, M.A., McDonnell, C. et al. An Equity-Minded Approach to Faculty Development in a Community of Practice. Innov High Educ 46, 393–410 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-020-09540-8
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-020-09540-8